It was my idea to digitally capture all of our old printed material so we could toss these box-filling artifacts into the bin of refuse that would be hauled off, thus lightening our load. Then, a couple of years after that exercise, I finally discovered the wherewithal to drag this stuff up to the online world where sharing can happen.
Caroline’s first concert without her mom in attendance was when she was 14 years old, back on March 13, 1982. She went to the Festhalle in Frankfurt, a large arena, where she saw Barclay James Harvest.
Her first “gig” was at the Batschkapp on the 11th of May, 1983 (though there is some chance it was 1982), where she went to see Téléphone. This band hailed from Paris, France, and, to the best of my knowledge, was unknown in America. From here forward, we’ll need Caroline to share her memories regarding these days.
I used to go to concerts long before running into John. Frankfurt has always had a lot of things going on, and back in the day, I was interested in all sorts of music, from classical to folk to electronic music and punk rock. There were no curfews enforced when I was a teenager, so I was able to go and see bands without adult chaperones, although initially, I often went with my sister and/or friends. My first show at the Batschkapp (Telephone), I attended with my sister and her mates and my friend Silke from Kronberg who probably slept over at my place afterward. The Batschkapp was a great place for alternative music and also hosted a weekly “disco” night called Idiot Ballroom; at some point, my friend group would meet there regularly to hang out and be edge lords and ladies. At the same time, I was also interested in “mainstream” bands. The aforementioned Barclay James Harvest featured very big in my pre-teen years, and when they played in Frankfurt, my sister and I went to see them. My mother would go to classical and folk concerts with me, such as the Dubliners, but she drew the line at rock music (too loud!).
Going to a show at the Batschkapp was pretty reasonable (plus buying a ticket ahead of time often yielded a small discount), and I often went just because somebody recommended a band or performer or I had read about them in a music magazine. Some of the concerts I don’t remember at all, some I just have vague memories of. For example, I saw Murray Head because he had one big hit with “One Night in Bangkok” from the musical Chess, which I loved. The rest of his performance was apparently forgettable.
I think I saw Marillion with a guy that I had a crush on, but nothing happened with him. And the music was pretty nondescript, too. Sorry, Marillion fans.
In September 1986, my mates and I saw Wiseblood perform at the Wartburg in Wiesbaden. Lydia Lunch also did some spoken word gig and my (male) companions all had a thing going for her. I, meanwhile was fascinated by Jim Thirlwell of Wiseblood.
No memories of the Toten Hosen concert. I don’t even know why I went because, in my memories the Hosen (a German “fun punk” band) were already considered “sell-outs” by my group of friends.
Nick Cave, on the other hand, was a class act. Amazing, even though the fact that Blixa Bargeld from the band Einstuerzende Neubauten (also considered sell-outs) was in his band was a bit distracting.
This could be the first time John and my paths crossed without consciously seeing each other. From the number of concerts both of us were attending, this must have happened another dozen times before we said hello.
Fuzzbox (a.k.a. “We’ve Got a Fuzzbox and We’re GonnaUse It”) was another one of my “guilty” pleasures, and I believe I saw them by myself. Basically, they were a fun punkish girl band in the tradition of Sigue Sigue Sputnik, meaning they didn’t really know how to play instruments when they started out but managed to have a couple of hits, like this one. There really weren’t a lot of girl bands around at the time, and their energy was great.
The UK Subs I went to see by myself because I had one of their records, but the show was lame. All I remember was thinking how “over it” they all looked. Considering they weren’t actually all that old at the time, it really drove the “punk is dead” idea home for me. They apparently are still active as of 2021.
Since I love Irish/Celtic folk, I also adore the Pogues, at least during the 80s when they were touring with Shane MacGowan as lead vocalist. The mosh pit at Pogues concerts was the place to be.
I’m pretty sure I remember seeing the Dubliners with my mother. I might even have bought the tickets for both of us. Come to think of it, Alte Oper used to put on some interesting shows, like the band Madness, which I saw with my friend Silke in December 1982, along with a few hundred skinheads. I remember standing on the expensive seating near the stage, and the band stopped playing at some point to break up a fight in the crowd.
I sort of remember seeing Ultravox, but they really only had a couple of hits, and I was never a huge fan.
I probably went to see the Peking Opera performers with my mother. The Jahrhunderthalle is a cool dome-like structure built in the early 1960s.
It turns out that John and I visited many of the same shows, having an eclectic taste in music, but it would be years before we’d ever see each other, even if the gig only had 50 people and a number of them left during the show because they were offended by video footage seemingly showing a castration.
Don’t remember much about the Goldenen Zitronen other than that they were (or are?) a “fun punk” band singing in German. Their “thing” at the time was taking popular songs and adding their own lyrics.
No clue… there may have been some local bands playing that I knew at the time.
Funny enough, I remember the Swans concert at the Batschkapp much more than the one at the Wartburg. Most likely, this was one of those times I was out with my mates.
No idea why I went to see Chrome. Probably, someone said they were worth seeing, and I had nothing better to do.
Zodiac Who?
Probably out with my mother again.
Definitely heading for the mosh pit with my friends for this one.
John and I were both at this show, but it was Jim Thirlwell who had my attention. This is the same guy I lusted over at the Wiseblood show a couple of years earlier. I was alone at the show and afterward worked up my courage to walk up to him to ask for a light for my cigarette. Those were the days…
Our paths crossed after a mutual friend of John, and I recommended I go say hi to the American with lamb chops and cowboy boots who was interested in photography and video, too. Nothing of attraction was had between the two of us, just a chance encounter.
It was about 3:00 in the morning on a Monday night that turned out to already be John’s birthday and I’d bump into him again. I was out seeing Psychic TV with my friend Angela, and the show was over, except John brought us backstage to meet the band, and my friend hit it off with the guitar player who ended up returning to Frankfurt after the tour, spending a couple of weeks with Angela.
Just two weeks after this show, John and I would find the first spark of a relationship following a show by the Pixies at Batschkapp. We were not there together; he ran into me just outside the Batschkapp, and the rest, as they say, is history.
